SHOW NOTES
GUEST INFO
Episode Guest:
Yoni Samuel-Siegel, COO of Prospect Schools
Website:
https://www.brooklynprospect.org/
EPISODE SUMMARY
Enrollment isn’t just about filling seats—it’s about building a culture where every staff member understands their role in sustaining and growing a school community.
In this episode of The Charter School Insider Podcast, host Daniel Casselli sits down with Yoni Samuel-Siegel, Chief Operating Officer at Prospect Schools in Brooklyn, NY. With 25 years in education, Yoni shares how Prospect shifted from relying on word-of-mouth enrollment to building a structured, data-informed culture of recruitment and retention.
From creating seamless family experiences to introducing CRMs like HubSpot, Yoni unpacks how Prospect Schools aligned operations, leadership, and community to achieve double-digit enrollment growth. If you’re a charter school executive wondering how to transform your enrollment strategy into a network-wide movement, this episode is for you.
EPISODE TAKEAWAYS
RESOURCES
HubSpot - CRM platform used by Prospect Schools
V-Chief - Consulting partner for enrollment strategy
CHAPTERS
00:00 Background and Overview of Prospect Schools
04:18 Enrollment Culture and Challenges
09:20 Identifying Systemic Issues in Enrollment
13:48 Operationalizing Enrollment Strategies
20:50 Engaging Stakeholders for Buy-In
27:16 Navigating Challenges in Change Management
32:24 Key Takeaways for Future Leaders
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Yoni Samuel-Siegel is the Chief Operating Officer of Prospect Schools. Yoni Samuel-Siegel has two decades of diverse experience in the field of education as a classroom teacher, non-profit leader, and charter school operational leader. Yoni began his career spending 10 years in the classroom as a Middle School Language Arts Teacher. During that time he took every opportunity to become more involved in his school community, including coaching basketball and track and founding a student peer leadership organization, and leading professional development sessions for fellow teachers in the region.
After leaving the classroom, Yoni transitioned to working in the education non-profit sector spending 5 years as Campus Director and Managing Director of Program with Citizen Schools in Houston, Texas. During his time as Managing Director, Citizen Schools launched two new sites of expanded learning-time programs at Houston ISD middle schools, bringing hundreds of volunteer professionals into classrooms to share their experience and helping to narrow the opportunity gap for nearly double the students in the city.
Yoni then transitioned to leading charter school operations as the founding Associate Chief Operating Officer at Camden Prep, Uncommon Schools’ newest region, where he led all school and regional operations. During his time as ACOO, Camden Prep doubled its number of enrolled students and launched two new schools while opening a new building and substantially renovating another to ensure students in the City of Camden had the beautiful school facilities they deserve. Most recently, Yoni served as Chief Operating Officer for BRICK Education Network, a Newark, NJ based charter management organization.
Yoni holds a BS from Rutgers University in Administration of Justice and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from William Paterson University.
When he’s not working or spending time with his family, Yoni enjoys cooking, playing games, and crossfit..
ABOUT OUR HOST
Daniel Casselli is a life-long learner whose passion for education has driven his professional endeavors. He is a former classroom teacher and youth ministry director whose entrepreneurial spirit landed him in the world of education technology. At EVERFI Inc., Daniel helped run the business development efforts for EVERFI’s Financial Education Program and the company was eventually sold to Blackbaud for $750M in 2021. Shortly before EVERFI’s acquisition, Daniel joined Class Technologies as one of the earliest sales hires and went on to lead K12 Enterprise Sales and helped the company land its first 100+ K12 customers across public, charter, and private schools. Daniel brings his unique experiences to BuyQ where he is focused on growth, operational excellence, business strategy, and client satisfaction. He is a graduate of Grove City College where he studied Religion and History.
You can listen to Charter School Insider: Lessons from the Nation's Top Charter School Operators on your favorite podcasting platform...